Remembering the graceful Nalini Jaywant on her 7th death anniversary today.

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Blessed with an extraordinarily serene face, as innocent as a cherub's, Nalini Jaywant was a huge star in the early fifties.

Younger cousin of actress Shobhana Samarth and aunt to Nutan and Tanuja, Nalini Jaywant easily made the transition from successful child artiste in films like Mehboob Khan’s Bahen (1941), Nirdosh (1941) and Radhika (1941) to starring roles opposite the top leading stars of the time. 


Rahi (1953) movie poster in Bulgarian language, featuring Nalini Jaywant.


 She won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 1958 film Kaala Pani.

 As a heroine, Nalini Jaywant was in the spotlight for about 20 years and shared screen space with Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt, Ajit and others. 
Nalini Jaywant on Filmfare cover ( Filmfare issue dtd.December 2, 1960)

Having played the heroine for two decades and with a paucity of good roles, Nalini retired soon thereafter. 

 She became recluse after the death of her second husband, actor Prabhu Dayal, with whom she worked in many hit films. 

Almost 20 years later, Nalini sprang a surprise when she agreed to play her only character role, that of Amitabh Bachchan's blind, long-suffering mother in Nastik (1983).

 Nalini Jaywant passed away on December 20th, 2010 in tragically lonely circumstances at her bungalow in Chembur.

 May her soul rest in peace.

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